Yoon's 'Labor Reform' Banner... Ruling Party Builds Momentum Day After Day

'Pro-Yoon' Lawmakers' Study Group 'Gukmin Gonggam' Holds Lecture on Labor Reform
Jung Jin-seok, Emergency Committee Chair, "Push Labor Reform with the Power of Unity"

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong and Kim Youngwon] As President Yoon Seok-yeol emphasizes 'labor reform,' the People Power Party is rallying support day after day to back this effort. The pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) study group within the party, 'Gukmin Gonggam,' showed cooperation by attending a lecture on labor reform measures on the 21st.

Jung Jin-seok, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, attended the labor reform lecture held by Gukmin Gonggam at the National Assembly Members' Office Building that morning and said, "Labor reform is a core task of the Yoon Seok-yeol government," adding, "I hope you will push forward vigorously with united strength, even though labor reform will be difficult." This aligns with President Yoon's request for support the previous day when he met with 200 young people who helped him during the presidential election and said, "Among the three major reforms (labor, pension, education), labor reform must be pursued first."

Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is giving a greeting at the 2nd study meeting of 'Public Sympathy' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Chairman Jung further explained the necessity of labor reform, stating, "Without resolving the dual labor structure and the gap between regular and irregular workers, South Korea's economy cannot regain vitality. We cannot take a single step forward."

The lecture included presentations such as Kim Tae-gi, Chairman of the Central Labor Relations Commission, on 'Digital Transformation and Labor Reform,' and Lee Chae-pil, former Minister of Employment and Labor, on 'The Path of Labor Reform under the Yoon Seok-yeol Government.' The Central Labor Relations Commission is an administrative and quasi-judicial body handling labor disputes, and Chairman Kim has consistently advocated for structural reform in the labor sector. Additionally, former Minister Lee reportedly advised President Yoon to pursue 'strategic and meticulous' labor reform. After Lee's closed-door lecture, Yoo Sang-beom, the public relations secretary of Gukmin Gonggam, told reporters, "(Former Minister Lee) said that labor reform can succeed when it is discussed through deep and close dialogue between labor and management, followed by extracting a consultation process based on those discussions," explaining that this was advice given to President Yoon regarding labor reform.

About 40 members of the People Power Party attended the lecture. The leadership, including Emergency Committee Chairman Jung, Floor Leader Joo Ho-young, Deputy Floor Leader Song Eon-seok, as well as Jang Je-won, an original 'Yunhaekgwan' (key figure close to President Yoon Seok-yeol), participated to show their support.

The People Power Party has now launched a full-scale legislative drive related to labor reform. Assemblyman Ha Tae-kyung proposed the 'Partial Amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act' the day before, which requires labor unions with more than 300 members to submit accounting documents annually to administrative authorities and excludes accounting personnel within unions from audit duties. This aims to dismantle the structure where union leadership acquaintances or accounting personnel conduct 'self-audits' without issue. Furthermore, Jung Woo-taek, the most senior member of the People Power Party and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has shown strong commitment to reform by introducing the so-called 'Labor Union Finance Transparency Act,' which includes expanding the retention period for financial documents and strengthening union members' rights to inspect records.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.